The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 12, No. 321, July 5, 1828

Project Gutenberg's The Mirror, 1828.07.05, Issue No. 321, by Various

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: The Mirror, 1828.07.05, Issue No. 321

       The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction

Author: Various

Posting Date: January 18, 2013 [EBook #8640]

Release Date: August, 2005

First Posted: July 29, 2003

Language: English

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MIRROR, 1828.07.05 ***

Produced by The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and

Instruction Jon Ingram, Charles Franks and the Online

Distributed Proofreading Team

THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.

[NO. 321.] SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1828. [PRICE 2d.]

EATON HALL, CHESHIRE,

The Seat of the Rt. Hon. Earl Grosvenor.

This mansion is a princely specimen of Gothic architecture; and is in every respect calculated for the residence of its noble possessor, whose taste and munificence in patronizing the Fine Arts are well known to our readers. Nevertheless, it is worthy of special remark, that not only is the name of GROSVENOR conspicuous in this patronage, but his lordship has further evinced his love of art in the construction of one of the most splendid buildings in the whole empire,—the present mansion having been completed within a few years.[1] Here the noble founder seems to have realized all that the ingenious Sir Henry Wotton considered requisite for a man's house and home—the theatre of his hospitality, the seat of self-fruition, a kind of PRIVATE PRINCEDOM; nay, to the possessors thereof, an epitome of the whole world.

[1] At this moment, Earl Grosvenor has in progress a splendid gallery for the reception of his superb collection of pictures, adjoining his town mansion, in Grosvenor-street. This is one of the few Private Collections to which, through the good taste and courtesy of the proprietor, the public are admitted, on specified days, and under certain restrictions. The nucleus of Earl Grosvenor's collection, was the purchase of Mr. Agar's pictures for £30,000; since which it has been enlarged, till it has at length become one of the finest in England. In the drawing-room at Eaton are, Our Saviour on the Mount of Olives, by Claude Lorraine, which is the largest painting known to have been executed by him; and A Port in the Mediterranean, by Vernet. In the dining-room, Rubens with his Second Wife; by himself; and The Judgment of Paris, a copy, by Peters, after Rubens. In the dressing-room of the state bed-room, David and Abigail, also by Rubens. Over the ornamented chimney-pieces of the hall are, West's Dissolution of the Long Parliament, and The Landing of Charles the Second.

Eaton is situated about three miles to the south of Chester, on the verge of an extensive park, thickly studded with fine old timber. The present Hall occupies the site of the old mansion, which is described as a square and spacious brick building erected by Sir Thomas Grosvenor, in the reign of William III. The architect was Sir John Vanbrugh, who likewise laid out the gardens with straight walks and leaden statues, in the formal style of his age. In the reconstruction, the fine vaulted basement story of the old Hall was preserved, as were also the external foundations, and some subdivisions; but the superstructure was altered and entirely refitted, and additional apartments erected on the north and south sides, so as to make the area of the new house twice the dimensions of the old one.

The style of architecture adopted in the new Hall is that of the age of Edward III, as exhibited in that Parthenon of Gothic architecture, York Minster; although the architect, Mr. Porden, has occasionally availed himself of the low Tudor arch, and the forms of any other age that suited his purpose, so as to adapt the rich variety of our ancient ecclesiastical architecture to modern domestic convenience. Round the turrets, and in various parts of the parapets are shields, charged in relievo with the armorial bearings of the Grosvenor family, and of other ancient families that, by intermarriages, the Grosvenors are entitled to quarter with their own. The windows, which are richly dight with tracery, are of cast-iron, moulded on both sides, and grooved to receive the glass. The walls, battlements, and pinnacles, are of stone, of a light and beautiful colour, from the Manly quarry about ten miles distant.

The annexed engraving represents the west-front of the house, in the centre of which is the entrance, by